His partner witnessed the assault from a window and she escaped through a back door of the house, Rosenfeld said.

The Israeli news website Ynet said the woman was injured when she tripped on barbed wire while running away and later underwent surgery. According to the report, the slain man was a reservist, a colonel in his 50s.

The woman, identified as Monique Mor by Channel 10 TV, later spoke to the station from a hospital bed. ‘‘Everybody knew him, he was a military man for many years,’’ she said. The man, identified by reports as Seraiah Ofer, had served as commander of the Gaza district and in several elite combat units, she said.

Israeli President Shimon Peres issued a statement condemning the killing of a senior officer ‘‘who served his country and people.’’

‘‘No one will rest until the murderers are brought to justice,’’ Peres said.